16812 research outputs found
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Combatting Disengagement and Creating Humans Again: Fixing Our School System with Montessori Ideas in the Age of Technology
No full textIt’s no secret that most kids in the US say they don’t like school. Therefore, they think they don’t like learning. However, what’s done in traditional public schools really isn’t learning in its meaningful sense. Instead of allowing kids to follow their natural curiosities, which would enable them to practice meaningful, active learning, schools reward students with grades for memorizing facts and for sitting still in their seats all day. Sure they “learn” that George Washington was the first president, but they also learn that they are defined by a test score. Ultimately, traditional schooling has an awesome way of killing kids’ natural love of learning and overall spark because of the disengaging way it’s designed and, ultimately, the values it promotes. It simply teaches us to care about the wrong things. This disengagement and mixed up values has never been more evident than with the recent outburst of students using AI to do their work for them. Why try to put the work in if it’s not meaningful and you can get a passing grade either way? Why not just cheat and take shortcuts if you’re not engaged. This is obviously a massive problem that must be combatted. This project starts off with theoretical and philosophical critiques about the US public school system, focusing mostly on the structural components that make up what we think of as “education”, to understand how we have gone wrong. The paper then goes onto to look at different, unconventional forms of education to see if any other form approaches learning in a different way. In this part of the project, I focus on Montessori education and compare it to traditional schooling in the structure and conception of learning. Specifically, I contend that with the emphasis on autonomy, creativity, and intrinsic motivation, Montessori engages the curious spirit of the child in a way traditional school hasn’t been able to, making it a valuable weapon against the disengagement that plagues our schools today
Understanding Neurodivergence Through First Person Narratives
No full textBy reading a story from somebody else’s perspective, we can gain insight into how they feel and interact with the world. In this project, I’ve taken that base idea, and placed it through a neurodivergent lens to help neurotypical people learn about, understand, and empathize with their neurodivergent peers. The scope of my project includes three stories, each from the perspective of someone with a different form of neurodivergence: Schizophrenia, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. I’ve done my best to portray the common struggles that these different people face on an everyday basis through compelling and entertaining stories. Though entertainment is important, accuracy and proper representation is my top priority. To maintain integrity and respect for the people this project effects, I conducted extensive research, and where possible, had my stories proofread by people with the corresponding neurodivergence. Despite this, I must admit I am only human. If anything in my work offends you or is inaccurate, I sincerely apologize, as it was not my intent. I am learning about neurodivergence right alongside you, and I have only pure intentions. Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy
The Interaction Between Two Protein Quality Control Systems
No full textProteins are large biological macromolecules that are made up of chains of smaller building blocks called amino acids. They serve many important functions in cells. For example, proteins include enzymes, storage proteins, receptor proteins, antibodies, and many others. Chaperone proteins help the amino acid chains that form these proteins to fold into the correct structures. Without chaperone proteins, amino acid chains can misfold into incorrect structures and form prions. Prions can interact with correctly folded copies of the same protein and cause them to misfold and bind together, thus causing a protein aggregate. My project sought to determine the interaction between the RAC and NAC subunits, two chaperone proteins, by engineering yeast strains with deletions of components of RAC, NAC, or both. By measuring prion formation in the strains I have engineered, we will be able to understand how the presence of both the RAC and the NAC help prevent the formation of prions within cells
Distributing the Ursinus Food Forest Harvest: Considering the Lenape and Questions of Equity
No full textFood forests are regenerative agricultural systems designed to support people and wildlife, with Indigenous knowledge and practices often guiding their stewardship. The Ursinus College Food Forest (UCFF) at the Whittaker Environmental Research Station is one such system. As a relatively young “living-learning laboratory”, the UCFF serves to connect student stewards, other students from the College, community visitors, and the Lenape people to many food and material-producing plants. The UCFF also functions to strengthen the College’s reconciliation with the Lenape people, upon whose unceded ancestral land our campus and the site are situated. Honoring Ursinus’s commitment to the Welcome Home Project, the UCFF seeks to enact the Honorable Harvest by recognizing and showing gratitude for the connection between people and the gifts provided by the species planted. As the UCFF continues to establish itself, the question of what to do with its harvests is pressing. To address this question, this research compiles a database of usages for plant species at the UCFF. Better understanding how these species benefit people, particularly the Lenape, and wildlife provides a starting point for determining how to more equitably distribute its yields across different stakeholder groups: food-insecure community members, indigenous peoples, and wildlife. In doing so, these distribution pathways must be balanced within a formal context that must consider A.) The agricultural conservation easement present; B.) Indigenous reconciliation efforts through the WHP; and C.) The growing need for the UCFF to generate revenue to support future programmatic directions and the Delaware Tribe itself
An Ethnographic Study of Student Engagement in the College Classroom
No full textThe purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of the perspectives and experiences of Ursinus students in the classroom setting. My research question was: How do Ursinus College students perceive, feel, and think about the classroom environment
Lunar Crater Categorization and Why Accessibility Matters for Planetary Scientists
Get PDFOne can determine the absolute model age of any planetary body in the solar system by compiling statistics about primary craters. However, secondary craters contaminate those statistics. Differentiating between primary craters—which are formed from an impact of an object from space onto a planetary surface—and secondary craters—which are formed from the fragments ejected from primaries—is an outstanding question in planetary science literature. No one characteristic can universally distinguish primaries from secondaries, and workers have developed numerous methods for sorting the two classes of craters. This is why we are developing a semi-automated, transparent, reproducible procedure that will compile datasets that have been shown to highlight differences between primary and secondary craters on the lunar surface. The procedure will be accessible to undergraduate researchers, and our process will be stored, providing a record for future scientists. We will utilize photographic and radar data, which can be visualized, extracted, and referenced using publicly available remote sensing data of the lunar surface, accessible through the Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing (JMARS) geospatial information system software. After reviewing methods performed by previous workers, we decided to follow a method for identifying spatial clustering adapted from Robbins and Hynek (2011). Eventually, this procedure will be used in combination with our other methods to identify characteristics of secondary craters, such as shallow and asymmetric elevation profiles, circular polarization ratio “tails”, herringbone dunes, and rock abundance
The Grizzly, March 14, 2024
Get PDFLibrarian Skorina Talks Potential Renovations to Myrin Library • Sodexo Chef Cook-off at Wismer • March Crossword Puzzle • You Like Jazz? • Senior Honors Projects: Featuring Grabowski and Grubb • Where\u27s the Party at? • Winter is the New Spring! • Bears Hard at Work Over Spring Breakhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/2029/thumbnail.jp
The Communist Manipesto
No full textThe Communist Manipesto was an entry in Myrin Library\u27s 19th Edible Books Festival at Ursinus College.https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/ebf/1373/thumbnail.jp
The Grizzly, April 4, 2024
Get PDFCounting Craters With Physics • Talking With the Cast of Captain Darling • Main Street Revitalization Plan • Watson Fellowship Winner Tommy Armstrong \u2720: Travels and Reflections • Seniors Share Their Favorite Memories at Ursinus • Sudoku! • NCGA National Championship Puts Ursinus on the Map • Springing Into Actionhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/2032/thumbnail.jp
Investigating Chaperone and Disease Protein Interactions Involved in Neurodegenerative Diseases
No full textNeurodegenerative diseases affect millions of people worldwide and result from damage to neuronal cells in the brain essential for cognition, coordination, mobility, and strength. Prominent examples include ALS, Alzheimer\u27s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson\u27s Disease, whose precise origins remain unknown. However, they are associated with the accumulation of specific proteins in neurons: TDP-43 and FUS, amyloid beta peptide, polyQ, and alpha synuclein aggregates, respectively. Recent findings highlight DnaJB, a class of proteins with significant disaggregation capabilities, as a promising avenue for therapy. With 66 diverse J-protein isoforms, identifying which DnaJB variants effectively bind and interact with disease-associated proteins remains a critical pursuit. Our study aims to elucidate these interactions using the Yeast Two Hybrid method, which could direct the design of targeted chaperone-based treatments that combat neurodegenerative diseases more effectively